


Ashes to Ashes

by 3cheers12years



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Bittersweet, Christmas, Christmas Eve, Crying, Dissociation, F/M, Gen, Men Crying, Not Beta Read, Sad, Teen for language, anxious behaviours, i intended platonic but whatever floats ur boat, im sorry, no really i am, platonic if you want, romantic if you want, this is why we cant have nice things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 07:34:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13142007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/3cheers12years/pseuds/3cheers12years
Summary: "I was-... I was wondering if I could stay with you for the night?"





	Ashes to Ashes

There's three knocks at your door, and then your doorbell buzzes.

You glance at your wall clock. 7pm. You sigh and ignore it, turning your attention back to the space documentary on your TV. A few minutes pass, and there's another buzz. And then, another. You sigh, hauling yourself off of your sofa and dragging your feet to the front door.

"Listen," you start, as you're opening the door, "I'm not all that into Christmas carols and I don't wanna be an asshole on Christmas Ev-"

Dan stands before you. His arms are limp by his sides, eyes wide and puppy dog-ish. You look over him slowly.

"My house burned down." he tells you, quietly.

"It _what_?" you ask.

"I came back from New Jersey, 'cause I was driving, and as I pulled up to my house there were police, ambulances and the fire brigade. Something about a pipe blowing or-... I don't know. My house burned down." His eyes don't leave your face, his voice sounds distant. "I was-... I was wondering if I could stay with you for the night? You're close. And everyone else has Christmas plans but I'm Jewish and you're alone this year and I thought-"

You step aside, "Come in, Dan. I'll sleep on the sofa, you can have my room."

He steps into the house and you close the door. He wipes his feet and toes off his shoes before starting to drift his way to your living room. You catch his wrist and slide to his hand, pulling him back to you. You push his coat off of his shoulders gently, taking it from him, hanging it up with your own. It smells ever so slightly of smoke.

"I told them to leave the rest of the investigation and reports and shit til after Christmas," Dan babbles, letting you lead him through your home, "because people have families and they need to spend time with them, right? And it's not being treated as suspicious so I thought, 'what is the use?', y'know? The officer was really nice, she- thank you-" you hand him a glass of water to still his fidgety hands as you heat milk on your stove, "Yeah, she, uhm, she was saying I've gotta give a statement or something but that can wait and I've got all her and her colleges details. I'm really glad my neighbours called emergency services, like, what if I was in there y'know? They would have saved me and I'm so-"

"Danny." you interrupt him.

His eyes snap from their place on the kitchen floor to you, "...yeah?"

You sigh softly, brushing his hair out of his face, "Does hot cocoa upset your stomach?"

He shakes his head slightly, "No. It's like, the only kind of chocolate that doesn't really bother it. Sometimes it does, but that's if I have loads or it's really rich, but I don't really drink it that much. Chocolate isn't good for you anyway, so I don't really mind. It's supposedly an aphrodisiac, though. So is wine."

You smile at him sadly, nodding your head, "I won't make it too strong for you."

He watches you make hot cocoa for the two of you, swaying back and forth, rocking his weight from foot to foot. You glance over your shoulder.

"Danny, do you have clothes?"

"They-... were in my house."

"Didn't you take some to Jersey with you?" you keep your voice light as you squeeze blossom honey into both of your mugs.

"Yeah but they're all dirty. I didn't get the chance to do laundry."

"Did you drive here?"

"Yes."

"Is your car open?"

"Yes."

"Okay," you offer him his mug. He swaps you the now empty glass of water, "Go sit down in the living room. Wonders Of The Solar System is on."

He nods, numbly, thanking you before turning on his heel and padding his way into your living room. You put on your slippers and head out to his car, fetching his suitcase and bringing it into the house. You put all of his clothes into the washing machine, setting it on a thorough cycle. You pull baggy pyjama bottoms from your dryer and a way oversized t-shirt of an exes. You take your mug in one hand and the clothes in another as you join him in the living room. His eyes are trained on the TV, but you're not sure he's paying attention. You place your mug on the coffee table and place the clothes in his lap.

"The bottoms will be short on you, but I think we're about the same in waist size. The shirt will swallow you whole, but it's the best I can do."

"Thank you." he says, quietly. You tuck your feet under yourself as you sit, leaning your head on his shoulder.

"I'll make us a Christmas dinner tomorrow. It's not much, and you've never had one right? But it'll be nice. It'll be special."

"I got you something for the holiday. Commerically. But-..."

"It's ashes, isn't it?"

He huffs a laugh, "how did you guess?"

You rub a hand on his leg. He sips at his cocoa, "Your company is enough. Thanks for coming here."

"Thanks for having me."

"I'm doing your washing. When you're ready, you can sleep in my room. I just need to grab some blankets from the closet. It's upstairs, first door on the right-"

"Can't you sleep with me?"

You freeze, holding your breath. You lift your head, looking up at Dan. His lips are pressed together, eyes wide and glassy. You find yourself praying in your head, _Danny, please don't cry. Don't you dare cry._

His voice breaks, "I don't want to be alone." he sounds like a child.

You let out your breath, "Okay, sweetie. We can share a bed."

"Thank you." Dan sniffles and rubs his eyes with the back of his hand.

The two of you finish your cocoa, finish watching the documentary series. Dan gets changed into his make-shift pyjamas. The Timon and Pumba print on the bottoms kind of suit him. He settles quietly under the duvet, lying there like a corpse. You lie on your side to look at him. He lies flat on his back.

"Maybe tomorrow we can go for a walk? Take a drive down to the forest." you suggest.

Dan hums, Adam's apple rising as he does so. It seems to be the only part of him that's moving.

You understand. His home for the past few years, every single thing he owns, all of his memories are gone. You don't expect him to be his bright and cheery self. It's a horrible thing to happen to anyone, but at this time of year, it really feels like a swift kick to the nuts.

You shuffle closer to him, carefully wrapping an arm around his torso and nestling into the crook of his neck. Dan relaxes slightly. Then he sniffles, and then he curses.

"C'mere," you say, softly, against his ear. He's quick to turn and bury his face against your shoulder, muffling his sobs against your clothes. You rub his back slowly, breathing deeply, keeping yourself together for him. Dan clings to you as though you're a lifeline.

It takes a while for him to calm down, but you just let him take his time. He eventually falls asleep, cuddling you like a teddy bear, finally looking peaceful. You reach over him carefully, waking up the screen of his phone to check the time. You sigh, settling back, brushing your hand through his hair.

00:01.

You look at him for a moment. His face relaxed, eyelashes dark against his cheek. His mouth is slightly open and you're sure he's going to drool on you.

You smile. Sort of. It's more of a grimace really, a bittersweet edge.

"Merry Christmas, Dan."

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a current situation in my life. Happy Holidays.
> 
> Title - Ashes to Ashes by David Bowie - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMThz7eQ6K0


End file.
